King Tyler of Asterland is dying from a powerful dark-magic curse. Desperate to secure the kingdom’s future, he opens the Trial of the Crown to find a worthy successor. But the Shadow Council has forged divine sanction and infiltrated the trial, secretly plotting to seize the throne.
Then Tyler encounters Lisa Crawford, a nobleman’s daughter infamous throughout the capital as a crude, useless tomboy with no magical talent. In reality, Lisa is an unrivaled mage who has spent fifteen years concealing her powers while secretly investigating the dark-magic forces responsible for her mother’s murder—including her stepmother Julia.
Drawn into the Trial of the Crown, Lisa shocks everyone with her overwhelming magical abilities, crushing the Shadow Council’s champions and surviving their schemes. As the conspiracy deepens, Lisa uncovers the mastermind behind the dark-magic plot and fights to protect Asterland. Ultimately, she defeats the forces seeking the throne, exposes the truth behind her mother’s death, and uses her ancient healing magic to purify Tyler’s curse, transforming her from a mocked tomboy into the kingdom’s hidden magic queen.
